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Friday, December 30, 2011

Team 47: Pinky & The Boys

My name is Corie and I am from Plattsmouth, NE. I am looking forward to learning to how to run my new GPS to log the miles I am putting on my horses. I love trail riding with friends and can't wait to see all the miles we log this year. I will be splitting my time on my 5 geldings.....

Frosted Scribbles (Zippy) is a 13 yr old Paint and my main ride.

Curious Takota (Takota) is a 13 yr old Appaloosa who used to be my main ride, but now my husband took him over.

Donovan is a 10 yr old grade that was my husband’s horse but is a sweet ride that I don't mind taking a whirl on occasionally.

CF Maxceptional Two Soxs (Soxie) is a 5 yr old Solid Paint that is still a greenie, but I am hoping to put many more miles on him this year.

And finally Charlie is a 4 yr old Paint/QH that I hope to get riding soon and putting as many miles on this year as I possibly can.

112 comments:

5.09 miles in 1:15...not a very fast ride but what a gorgeous January day in NE!! I left work early, grabbed my best boy and hit the road. Opened him up a little in the field and hit 20.2 mph with plenty to spare! My mental health needed just that today :)

9.57 miles in 2:48 It was a pleasure cruise with my husband. Neither horse was in a big hurry. He rode Takota and I rode Zip. Hit the minimum maintainance road and we loped almost the whole mile...was such fun! Got back to the house after 5 as the sun was going down and temps were dropping.

Not a lot of distance but I am pleased with it. Brought up the greenie Soxie and did ground work to make sure he wasn't too high....he was but came down. I bridled up and hopped on and started the gps. We got walk, trot and canter both directions and rode until it was dark. I don't get much daylight after work but I took advantage of it tonight!!

5.23 miles in 1:02Jess was here waiting when I got home from work so I grabbed the first seasoned horse to put his head in the halter. Today that was Takota and he was actually clean for him! LOL. Rode out in the fields and around to Church Rd and parted ways with Jess and long trotted Takota about a mile and headed back toward home, but kept taking him away from home as he is barn sour :( I am feeling the posting trot tonight!! I have ridden the past 7 days in a row! I think that is a record for me!

Only 4.01 miles today but they were hard working miles mostly in the arena (3), then we traveled out of the arena working on both of us getting comfortable outside of the comfort of the arena. He was sweaty and so was I!! Can't post my tracks yet as they haven't made it up to Garmin connect yet :(

12.31 miles today. Hubby saddled up Takota and I saddled up Zippy and we headed south to meet up with Terri. We hung out and waited for Terri to get to the meeting point and then rode off together for a few miles then she headed back so she got in before dark. A little windy but still a decent January day!!

8.44 miles on Donovan today. Weather was pretty nice and I actually had about a minute of the ride when the sun peaked out and it realy smelled like spring! Wishful thinking I know.... Then Donovan gave me a happy buck! Totally out of character for him, guess he was feelin good!

I didn't get as far as I wanted, but I rode. Got home and grabbed Zippy and headed down the road. He was very heavy on the bit so we only went about a mile at a trot and came back to the arena to do some harder work and get him softened up. He was moving nicely when it got dark. All arena work was at a trot so he had to work. Riding him at twilight to dark in a big hurdle for me so I am happy with my mileage.

9.12 milesSaddled up Zip and met up with Jess and we rode around a couple of sections, dogs in tow. Wind was a little chilly but the horses were good. Scared up a pheasant at one point. Wish I would have had a video camera after we parted ways to record Morgan running in the ditch ahead of us...she looked like she was on crack. I was laughing out loud.

Today was the ride that almost wasn't. Decided to leave work an hour early to make a couple stops on my way home and ride. Have been having car issues and it wouldn't start when I got off work:( Had to wait for Chris to come and help me get it going so got a late start on my riding. Took Takota out. We have a decent moving average and that was mostly walking. Love that big swinging walk he has! Rode in to a beautiful sunset.

I am loving the peaceful rides on my heart horse. We are really a team. We did quite a bit of trotting on our short ride. We had one spook on our way back when things were getting shadowey...there was a tank in the field and he was looking at it and the intro to Bennie and the Jets came on (I was playing my iPod) and that scared him! LOL. Other than that, he was great...keeping consistent speeds and following my seat.

Thought a friend was going to come ride but hadn't heard back from her so I headed out riding. Heard from her when I was about a mile and a half from home so I headed back to meet up with her. We headed back out around 6:15 and rode about a half hour. It was dark when we got back! Her mare kept wanting to trot and got Zip a little worked up but we managed to come in on top! No riding today! Man that wind is howling out there and rainy...blech. I know we need the moisture tho!

2.11 miles tonight...total 117.90Ave moving speed 3.5 mph....got a late start and didn't climb aboard until 5:30 but got a much needed ride on my boy. Just snow crunching under foot and a crazy black dog running around us like she is on crack....

6.03 miles for a total of 123.93Took Takota out for a spin around the neighborhood. He got worked up over a tank sitting in the field...thought it was gonna get us! LOL Other than that, it was a very enjoyable ride :)

Took out the great white beast and met up with Terri. Rode together chatting for a couple miles then parted company to head back home. My tracks haven't uploaded to Garmin connect yet or I would post them. :(

Got a late start with Zip but we took off at a trot and out of the total miles we trotted or cantered a good 3-3.5 of it. Posting a trot that long after a Jillian workout last night was great! Ave moving time was 39:11 and ave moving speed was 7.0mph

I am attaching my tracks...not sure what happened with the satellites that it cuts 2 corners but I never left the road...??

Hit the road and headed to Jess's house and was a popsicle when I got there. Had planned to just finish the section and head home, but Jess got me some wind pants and we lit out to meet up with Terri. Thought I had just paused my GPS but ended up stopping it so the rest of the ride will be in a second comment

Part two of the ride...Jess and I met up with Terri and headed toward the river. Lets just say our ponies got traffic broke for sure today....even with dumbasses honking their horns as they go by. Zip led quite a bit and man on man did we have fun opening up twice! What a rush. Can I just say I love my horse???

Took Zip out and headed west to 60th then north to Mynard Rd. Trotted about 2.5 miles. There is a lot of scary stuff on that road and I have never taken Zip down it alone. Took awhile to go that mile. The last house on the road has Scottish Highland Cattle, guineas, dogs and a windmill that was clunking. Zip didn't know whether to stop and gawk at stuff or take off to get away from it all. Once past there we were home free. Hit 72nd St and cantered and galloped the whole mile then headed back east to home. Fast but great ride.

Jess was here waiting for me when I got home so I caught Zip and we headed out. We west to 60th then north to Mynard and went east which was a change for me as I always head west. We did quite a bit of trotting and loping. Once we hit 42nd St the sun was getting lower and we did some loping and galloping. Jess and I parted ways at Church Rd and Zip and I just walked on a loose rein watching the sun go down. Only met one car and the pup listened and got off the road. Had 2 geese fly over head when we were almost back up the driveway. Just loving the weather even tho it was windy as heck!

Brought Soxie up to the round pen to start out with groundwork and when I felt we were good with that I hopped on in there. Didn't take long til we were out in the big arena. Did almost 2 miles there then ventured out to get me comfortable on him out in the big world. He was awesome and at the end we were loping the terraces out in the bean field. I wanted to post his tracks but for some reason they haven't made it to Garmin connect yet but my second ride of the day has??? Will post them when they show up!!

Took off on Zip and headed south and went around Jess's section. Had dogs greet me and walk with me a ways and then they stayed home. Saw some cows which brought Zips head up for a little while and then he didn't care. Came back on down Church Rd toward home but went on past our drive to the next road and went about a quarter mile before turning around to come home. Only one scary thing....had a car drive across the rumble bars right after we had passed them so it was behind us and Zip did a butt tuck and man was my heart racing. So proud of him that he didn't really spook! Loving this gorgeous weather!!!

Tonight was Soxie's turn. I did a little arena warm up with him then headed down the road. I have been a little apprehensive out alone as I got a little shaken at Branched Oak in a group when he got a little high. Totally me so I have to work on it. Took off down the drive and hit Church Road and trotted and loped a little...didn't know how far we would go but turned north on 60th and trotted almost the whole mile. Turned around and headed back for home and loped on a loose rein nice and easy. Went past our drive and crossed the bridge onto the blacktop. He wasn't too sure about the change of footing but I let him check it out and away he goes. Went into the field a little at home so he could see the girls jumping on the trampoline and then called it a night. Had a couple trucks go by and was a total non issue. I think I am okay taking him out now...Yay me!!

Jess swung by on her walk about and waiting while I caught a horse and saddled when I got home from work. We rode thru my pasture then out to the road towards her house. Did some loping in corn stalks. After leaving Jess at her place, Zip and I picked up a trot and kept that up for about 1.75 miles. Then just walked home to let him cool off. Cannot believe I was out riding in a tank top in March!!!

Had enough time for a fast ride before parent teacher conferences. Grabbed up my little black horse and went for a ride. My only goal was to get 4 miles so I hit 230. Just barely made it! But I will take it!

Terri came out and Jess rode over and we took off in the wind. Terri on my Soxie horse to do a little schooling and give me some pointers to lighten him up and me and Zip. we laughed and yelled so we could hear each other over the wind. Tried to find a way across a creek where a bridge is out but decided that would be a project for another day. Jess headed back towards her place and Terri and I went the other direction to finish out a section and headed home so I could get ready for a birthday dinner for my girls with my husbands parents. If not for that I would have kept on riding! Soxie was one tired pony when he got home. Zip was just getting warmed up! LOL Great times with great friends!

Grabbed Donovan after I brought Takota back and started back following the tree line along the creek and went thru our pasture calling and looking for dogs. Got beat up by wind pretty good riding south...was glad to get back home.

Grabbed Donovan and headed out with Jess. Met her on the road on my way home and she talked me into riding instead of cleaning the house like I was supposed to. Rode around the section and came home to my duties here at home. Tracks haven't posted to garminconnet yet :(

Lori hauled out today to ride with me and we met up with Jess for a ways and then went separate directions. I missed out on 2 fabulous riding days as we had out of town guests and then a birthday party for the girls. Got a sunburn today and tons of hair off Zip! Hope to get some rides in this week.

Didn't get to ride yesterday with getting home from one meeting and then having another to go to. I took the time I had at home to worm and groom the herd so tonight I got some much needed pony time. I had been in a funk all day so I grabbed Zip and away we went. Didn't have an agenda and actually went further than I had anticipated. Our average speed was 5.0 mph. When we were about a mile from home we saw two geese all by themselves and we watched them fly off.

Took off on Soxie in hopes of getting a decent ride before any storms hit. We were a little over a mile from home when I saw a flash and thought uh oh, we better high tail it home! Gotta love this little black horse...we loped or trotted most of the way back. Had a couple of loud cracks of thunder and he wasn't phased by it. It was a short ride, but I will take it!

Had the farrier out this morning, did a little housework, waited for the girls to get off the school bus then headed out for a ride on Zip so I could get back home as we were going to Omaha to do a few errands. Had a great ride. We had big trucks, a 4 wheeler a big sprayer in a field and none of that bothered him. Rode about a mile and a half talking on the phone with Terri. Closer to home, we flushed up a turkey and 5 deer. I think he is finally a broke horse!!! :)

Terri came out and she saddled up Soxie and I grabbed Donovan and we took off to meet up with Jess. We did a slow ride and fought the winds. Did a loop and came back to my place and Terri went to work with Riata and I grabbed Zip and saddled up and Jess and I rode to her place and she switched horses and lit out to head towards Terri on Junie. Met up with her and he rode with us awhile as we headed toward home. Got in as the sun was setting. Great ride with great friends on great ponies :)

13.84 miles Total miles 320.06http://connect.garmin.com/activity/163916881

Tammy had found an error in my addition..must have had fat fingers when I was tired adding. Got me all corrected now :)

Jess rode over and Zip and I met up and headed west. Had only figured an 8-10 mile ride but went a tad further. Flushed up a fox and I flushed up 3 deer closer to home when I was alone. I promised Zip I would leave him alone for the next couple of days :)

Grabbed Takota when I got home since he has had some time off from work. He has been standing around a round bale and he was a little bit of a booger at first, but settled in. I kept him on grass or field edges as we think he has been off because of a chunk out of his rear frog. He bobbles occasionally but it isn't consistent. Didn't notice anything until we were closer to home and he was getting more tired. Our max speed of 19 is bogus...that would have probably been his fast side jump spin when a deer scared the crap out of us. We just walked and he did his normal sweepy walk..ave speed 4.3.

Jessica hauled Red to Two Rivers so I had a horse to ride. Just not enough time to get home from work, changed, loaded and back to Two Rivers to be ready to ride at 6:30. Saddled up Red in my treeless as that is the only saddle I have that would fit his wide physique ;) Got some jokes about my saddle looking like a speedo on him, but hey , it worked! Rode out for a quick loop before the actual ride and came back to grab the group. While out, Jess and I switched horses and rode Cutter the rest of the night. Had a nice little social hour after and hit the road home.

Rain changed our plans for Indian Caves so Christine and Juanita said they would haul here to ride with me. Terri was in so I went and picked her up so she didn't have to rush to get saddled and ride to meet up with us. My horse trailer looked like I had gone muddin so I had to spray it off before I could saddle up or that stuff would have set up like concrete :( Zip was the trail leader and he headed off and wanted to ride thru our pasture but one of our hunters was down there so we bypassed thru the feild and headed down to the pond and then out to the road. We just headed west and went on roads I haven't ventured to yet. Found a really pretty minimum maintainence road. Did one little leg where we all just let the horses go a little. Zip and Royal were neck in neck. Winds were whipping but didn't spoil our fun. Got back to the house and were getting things ready to make food when things got a little hairy! That is a story for Team McKeogh to tell.... Ended up being a very late night.

Had decided I wasn't going to haul to Walnut Creek for the PRR but would ride at home. Jodi and Rich that bought a horse from us a few years back contacted me to see if they could ride with me and then Lori W asked if she could ride a horse to get her fix since her horse trailer is here getting some work done. We had a mini PRR Southeast of our own. A little slower than Zip and I are used to but good company.

Took Soxie out while a person interested in Donovan tried him out. He will be getting a new home. Soxie was his usual rock star self. Now I just need to keep picking him when I go to the lot and get the miles on him.

Juanita, Terri, Annette and Lori all came to my place and we went out for a nice ride. Juanita rode circles around us. Terri rode Soxie and took him on his first gallop. That horse is just awesome! Annette took a spin on gaited Lola and Lori rode Mister.

Decided it is time to get some more miles on Soxie so he is ready to be the husbands horse. This was my first solo ride in a group bigger than 3-4 without Terri there to guide me if we got anxious. Soxie is just a trooper....we started out and everyone was walking fast and he was a little excited so we dropped in behind Lori W on her big red mare and he settled down. We stayed to the back with Rich, Jodi and Lori. When we came to the first bridge I was letting him sniff it and I had planned to get off and walk him over and he literally JUMPED onto the bridge! One more little jump and then a scoot across. At the second bridge I got off and walked him across so he could take the time to really look at it. He did really well going out. We turned around to head back and at one point going along he jumped all 4 feet in the air when we were over a prickly weed! Jodi laughed for quite awhile about that one. When got to the bridges on the return trip he just walked across like he had been doing them all his life. Love the good mind and attitude on this boy. We came in after 9 and it was pretty dark. I still have the little voices in my head riding in the dark after being launched and then to be on my young, green horse..... I just kept breathing and had a good ride. Thanks to those who stayed around me in the beginning to keep him quiet.

9.80 miles on Friday at Waubonsie with Jess. Quiet day at the park....we didn't run into any other riders on the trails when we were out. Was a nice quiet ride with just the 2 of us. For some reason my tracks aren't uploading from my phone to garmin connect :(

That's okay. :) I knew you would love Kanopolis. Go back in the fall -- the colors are really incredible. I always think about Jesse James treasure when I am there -- supposedly its hidden somewhere in central KS. You pics on FB are great; especially like the sunsets.

Met Trujillos at Pierce Creek for a slow easy ride to get Takota out and see how he fared after being off for a couple of months and for me to get Soxie out in a group again. Had one OMG I am gonna die moments when a braying donkey scared the crap out of Soxie and all the horses spooked. Other than that it was an enjoyable ride. Soxie is a good boy and Takota didn't take a wrong step. Chris was so happy to be back on the trail. For some reason my tracks from my phone are slow to upload to garminconnect so they haven't shown up yet to post :(

Don't everyone get all jealous of how far I rode! LOL Was taking Takota out to see how he is doing. Chris would like to be riding, but he has had an inconsistent bobble since Feb :( He was fine at a walk and going down hills and on the rock road....at a trot we get a bobble off and on. Not sure what he has going on. He does have a chunk of frog gone in a hind foot and it is soft...wondering if that is the cause when he hits footing on that spot??

Kara offered me Parker to ride at Cunningham so I could ride with Terri since it has been forever. What a nice little horse he is. He hasn't been out in quite some time so we took it easy on him and he was still a tired pony at the end. What a great relaxing ride tho!

6/9 12.64 miles at Indian Caves with Chris and Brenda and Alex Trujillo. Was nice to have Chris out on Takota and see no off steps. We did an early ride, had some lunch and went back out again. Hit some trails we had never been on. Wasn't bad in the trees with the breeze even with the warmer temps.

6/10 12.37 today here at home with Terri on Soxie and me on Zippy. Had planned a bigger loop but it was warm even with the winds. Thank goodness the sun was under the clouds most of the time. Got back and it started to sprinkle not long after we were back! Great timing to get back and a great ride with Miss Terri! :)

Headed up to Turkey Creek friday at noon with my husband. We didn't have kids for the weekend so we thought we would go off with horses and try out the new trailer for camping. Met up with Brenda of team Blitz and her husband and had a fantastic weekend. There were lots of people there but only once did we ever meet anyone on the trail. Chris did some awesome dutch oven cooking for us Saturday night. Wishing I didn't have to go back to work tomorrow...

Had company in town from IL and Elaine really wanted to ride. Saturday was just plain busy with activity so we planned for Sunday morning. With 4 kids and 2 husbands in the house we didn't get as early of a start as I would have liked but we went. Hauled to Elmwood to ride the Mopac as there is quite a bit of shade and there was a breeze. Saddled up Takota for her and Zip for me and off we went. Both horses were great. Takota showed off his giraffe skills eating tree leaves for her...we got a chuckle. Her butt was a little sore after almost 9 miles but she was a trooper to go that far! We got home and jumped in the pool for the rest of the afternoon. Great weekend with friends and was sad to see them hit the road this morning. Looking like it will just be plain ugly this week for temps! :(

Hauled to the Louisville Mopac with Jessica. We should have started MUCH earlier....we must have been crazy...it was sure hot on the way back! We were out just shy of 3 hours. Felt good to be out even if it was hot. Saturday I am CO bound with horses and cannot wait!!

My tracks haven't shown up on Garmin or I would have them added here :(

Chris and I took off to beat the rain that set for early afternoon out here in CO. I took Soxie out for his first mountain ride and Chris on Takota. Funny that at some points our greenie boy had to lead because the tried and true horse didn't want to go! We only went up to 8066 ft yesterday but Soxie did great and took me across the 600 mile mark! We crossed a lot of water and he loved it! Then we hit the outlet mall at Castle Rock and went to his cousins in Denver for dinner. Today....more riding on the agenda!!

Chris and I headed out on the Trail Creek Trail here close to the cabin. I rode Zippy today. We kept going up and I wanted to see how high we would get but it looked like rain could move in and it got cooler so we turned around. Got up to 8681 ft today. Going a different place tomorrow and can't wait!

Met up with a couple of locals we have met out here and hauled to Dome Rock. I took Soxie to get him the experience. He is such a good egg, he was in every position along the way, leading, rear or somewhere in the middle. Just took it all in stride. Very cool place to ride. The middle part of the trail to Dome Rock wasn't open yet....it opened today so we missed it by a day as I had to have Sydney to the hospital in Denver today. Oh well..was still a good ride and we went out both directions to see what the scenery was like. Hoping we can get back and do it again. Lots of water crossings and gorgeous views. Heading back to hot Nebraska tomorrow. Will miss our 70's we have had here all week.

Cassie was looking for someone to ride with and offered up one of her horses so I drove over to Camp Kitaki and rode with her. We were in the trees and the heat wasn't bad at all. Was a good ride and nice to chat with her. Dexter was a good boy even tho he doesn't like city things! LOL

Jessica got me out of bed this morning so we went for some distance. It wasn't too bad when we started but it did get a little warm. We made sure we took a route that her dogs could get water as much as they could. This was the first time I rode Zippy since we got home from CO. Both horses were good :)

Dropped Charlie off at the trainer for 60 days and came home and saddled up for a quick ride with Terri before I had to take my girls to camp. She rode Soxie and I rode Zippy. Was nice catching up and the horses were good. Loved the temps we had today...more like it!! Can't wait until Charlie comes home to have one more in the line up.

Hauled with team Blitz and another couple to camp at River Valley in Farmington IA and ride Shimek Forest. What a beautiful campground!! We pulled in Friday and got camp set up and then went out for an evening ride to get the lay of the land.

Saturday we all went out for a morning ride and came back for lunch and lounging. Later part of the group went out, just 3 of us and after about 3 miles they wanted to turn back so I told them to go ahead I was going to keep riding. Zip and I went on trotting and loping along the trails and jumping logs. Was fun to go out just the two of us to pick the pace. Always nice to just spend time with Zip. Brenda got a great pic of the two of us this weekend that I love with his tongue sticking out. Sunday morning was drizzly so we headed toward Bloomfield to check out the Amish countryside and got some pics of the buggies going down the road. Had lunch there and came back for an evening ride. Got in from the ride just as rain started coming down. Rained most of the night. I had hoped for a ride Monday morning before heading home but the rest of the crew had other plans so we broke camp and did a little shopping on our way home. Back at work today :(

8/17 6.40 miles at Rock Creek8/18 16.18 miles at Rock Creek8/19 9.14 miles at Rock Creek

Total to date: 739.50

Picked up Lori M and headed to Rock Creek for Renee's Benefit ride. Got there around 1:30 to find Deb Heitman there alone. Got our camp set up and chatted. Waited for a couple others to pull in then headed out for a short evening ride before we had dinner.

Saturday AM started off sunny and got cloudy with a few sprinkles off and on. I think it was some tears from heaven falling on us as we remembered Renee. The rain went away and the weather was lovely for the rest of the weekend. Was great to see the turn out. Had fun riding up front with Tammy V and Sandy Ries.

It had been far too long since I had swung a leg over so I took the lead from Christine and went out early. I was saddled and riding at 7:00AM. Just took a small stroll out on Zippy watching the moon go down and the dew burn off. The air was cool but heavy. We did a little trotting and a little loping but mostly walked. Went past the scary farm with the yaks (LOL) but Zip was mostly concerned by all the noise the rooster and guinneas were making. Once we were past he calmed down. Out and about on my best boy was just what this soul needed today.

Haven't had a lot of time for riding lately but loaded up and headed to Elmwood and met up with Team Blitz, Alex and Jane. Had my darling husband along and we headed west toward Eagle. Nice slow ride and gorgeous weather. Had to stop several times along the way picking wild plums. We were hungry when we got back so we all ordered some food at the station and had a late lunch before heading home.

Headed up to Mike Anderson's for some great riding. Felt good to be on my horse after almost a month of no ride time. Between kids activities, nursing a hurt horse and hubby not being home, I just haven't had the time. Terri came along and rode Soxie who looks about 8 months pregnant and he did well too after a snorty start.

10/19/12 3.12 miles on Charlie10/21/12 1.40 miles on Charlie10/21/12 5.05 miles on Soxie

Total miles 776.31

Friday I went to get my first ride on Charlie and bring him home from the trainers. He has been there for 60 days. Lets hope I don't screw him up! Today the weather was so nice I had to get in some pony time. Brought Charlie up before noon and got in a short ride after ground work. Had to quit to go to the girls soccer game. When we got home, Chris and I saddled up Takota and Soxie and went for a ride. Takota has been out of commission for a month and a half after gashing his side open. He is all healed up and looked so happy to be out. Soxie was as good as gold. Three of my four got ride time today :)

I will get my miles in little bits while I still have daylight in the evenings this week. Working with Charlie in the arena getting to know him and get my confidence level up so I am ready to cowgirl up and take him out into the big world. He is fine...I am my own problem :) I will get there. Looking forward to tomorrow night to do it again.

Taking it where I can get it! Another night with Charlie in the arena. I had very limited time since we had to be someplace at 6 to trick or treat, but had a good ride. Thinking tonight it may be Soxie's turn!

Hauled up to Mike's yesterday for a nice November day. It was a great turn out. Chris took Takota and I rode Zip. Feeling it today after riding thru Zips little melt down in the middle of the ride. Gonna do some cleaning and then head out to ride some more today.

It was so nice out today that when my boss called in and said he wasn't coming in because it was nice out I decided to leave 45 minutes early to get in a little daylight. All I wanted was my less than 2 miles to hit my 800 mark. Was able to get a little more. Zip and I headed west on Church Rd but made a quick turn around when we saw a tractor pulling an anhydrous tank and a big cloud of white coming up....didn't want to be close to that! Caught a little whiff as we were heading away. Turned on 60th and hit a good trot until we came upon and old poppin tractor. He didn't think too much of that. Sun was starting to go down behind the hill so we turned around and hit a trot again all the way back to Church Rd (almost a mile). Made him walk the rest the way home. What a good day to end my work week :)

Grabbed the fat little black horse...back cinch almost didn't buckle! Did some arena time since it has been a little while since I have been on him. I think he is seriously too fat to do anything stupid :) Took off down the road and took Paislee along for her first ride with me. She did really well listening not getting too far ahead of me and and coming when called. Soxie didn't mind her along. We did some trotting and loping along the roads and in the fields.

Brought Charlie up for the first time since Halloween. Did a little ground work and hopped on. Still working in the arena. The girls were the only ones home with me so I didn't venture out. I need to try a different saddle on him as he seems to be unhappy... Hoping whatever is bugging him is an easy fix!

11/17/12 13.11 miles at Indian Caves on Zip. Met up with Trujillos, Lori M, Jacksons and Christine and did a loop, had some lunch and did a second loop. Good riding with friends!

11/18/12 21.56 miles at Christine's. I started out on Bling and was the guinea pig taking her across a bridge I fing out!! LOL Shame on you Christine! I then swapped with Christine and rode Taz! What a fun little mule. Rode her for awhile and then we did musical horses one more time and I got on Brookly and Terri got on Bling. That is how we went the rest of the way. Such nice horses. Was a great day with a lot of laughter and a great meal after! Thanks Troy!!

Got out of work early to run a couple of errands and wanted to get in a ride. Got home later than I had anticipated and kept going back and forth as to whether or not I wanted to fight the wind.... Finally decided what the heck, I only needed around 4 miles to hit the 850 mark (I wasn't exactly sure how much I needed), so at 4:45 I was saddling Zip up. We took off down the road chasing daylight. We loped the better part of 3 miles and then walked the rest of the way home as it was getting dark. I walked up to the trailer at 5:43. He has come so far for me to ride him with it getting dark. I guess in reality I have too :)

Rode yesterday braving the chilly wind. Took Takota out...I think the last time I rode him was in June! We just went thru the pasture to the pond and then out around the fields since Paislee went along. She is learning the ropes of following along and listening.

Today Chris and I hauled to Branched Oak to ride with the after Thanksgiving group. I took Zip who led the first part of the ride and then when we got to the dam he got excited when others passed him. I broke him off from the group and rode back on my own on a nice quiet horse :)

Headed south to ride with Christine of Team Purple this morning. I saddled up Brooklyn and she chose Bling and off we went. Our goal was to avg 5 mph since I had to leave by 4. We did a lot of trotting and cantering thru a lot of fields. Thanks so much Christine for letting me ride Brooklyn again. I had a great day! And thanks so much for my ear wrap! I love it! Can't wait to see the pics!

Yesterday Terri came out and helped with Charlie in the arena while she worked with Soxie. We did a lot of ground work and then rode. Miles didn't pile up in there, but the highlight was that I took Charlie out of the arena for our first ride down the road! Rode 3.41 miles at home. Then we went to Walts so she could ride June Bug and and I rode Jewel. We didn't get saddled until just before 5 so we only got in 2.2 miles but still time in the saddle.

Today Terri came out and Brenda M hauled to Jessicas and we all met up to ride. We just did some road riding but had great conversation. Got cooler as we were heading south and I had to have Chris bring me a coat! Terri got a hat and Brenda got some gloves to get us back home. Great day for December! Friday thru Saturday this weekend I put 46.45 miles in the saddle. Yay me!!

I had a mid afternoon appt so I decided to play hookey the rest of the day after that. Came home and saddled up Zip and hit the road. It was so nice and peaceful with just he and I. We had a big truck fly by throwing rocks, 2 barking dogs and finally a sheriff's car going by with sirens on. Zip handled all of it in stride. Got in as it was getting dark. Figured I needed to take advantage of the weather as it sounds like it is supposed to start cooling off :(

Terri was supposed to come out and ride with me so I could take Charlie out again. I decided I was riding anyways. I brought Charlie up and did my ground work then rode a little in the arena then I headed out down the road all by ourselves! I actually turned out of our drive and went up Church Rd a ways then turned around and did some riding thru the fields and then went between the rake and the car trailer and rode him into the arena to collect his halter and lead from horseback and then rode him to the horse trailer. So, while I didn't ride very far, it was a huge ride for me :)

Was a beautiful sunny day and not windy so I saddled up Zip and lit out. Some areas were slick so we took it slow. We watched the girls sledding down the driveway. Was just a good day to play out in the snow! :)

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

The Distance Derby '12 Awards Ceremony will be held Sunday, January 27 at Chance Ridge in Elkhorn at 4:00 PM. Pot Luck; bring your own table service and a dish to share.

DON'T LOSE YOUR MILES!

A reminder that rides must be submitted within 7 days of the ride to get credit. Anything over 7 days old will not be recorded. It is up to each rider to regularly check the Leaderboard and notify me of any errors.

LEADER BOARD - FINAL RESULTS

This final count reflects all riders who entered and finished the Distance Derby.

The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby

The purpose of this game is to encourage you to get out and ride. Any equine, any time, any speed. The Great Horsetrailriders Distance Derby started January 1, 2012. The idea is simple. Riders sign up and using their GPS (required equipment), record their mileage. They compete "virtually" with other teams entered in The Derby. The person with the most miles at the end of the year, wins the race. Progress reports will be provided on this blog. Comments are welcome.

About Me

A dozen or so years ago, my equine flame was ignited. I started riding horses again and truly found my passion. I started Horsetrailriders.com in 2004 as a way to share information about horse trail riding in our state. But what grew was my love of writing and sharing stories about our trails and my horses. I've dabbled in photography and enjoy sharing snaps from my horse life. I've been published in Horse & Rider, The Trail Blazer, Trail Rider Magazine, The Mane Event and Saddle-Up Nebraska.